S10 E226 - Turning Lemons Into Lemonade

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is Next Steps for Seniors with your host, Wendy Jones. Each week, Wendy brings resources and information to help guide you through those next steps with elderly parents and loved ones. If you have questions or topic suggestions, you can call us at 248-651-5010.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

Hello, and welcome to Next Steps for Seniors Conversations on Aging. I'm your host, Wendy Jones. And each and every week, as you all know, we love to share the physical next steps on our Tuesday programs. And on Fridays, we share our spiritual and emotional components of life and things that we go through and how we get through them. And today is no different because we really want to share a testimony of faithfulness, God's faithfulness to us, no matter what we go through. So our topic is really about making lemonade out of lemons. And our guest in the studio is Natasha. Hi, Natasha. Thank you. You're welcome. I'm so blessed to have you with us today. And, you know, life is tough. We all go through things at different times for different reasons. And I really feel like God has a master plan in the whole thing, even though He doesn't share that with us all the time. So I'm really blessed to have Natasha with us today because she has a story of turning lemons into lemonade. And so I want you to take us back a little bit in your life. Well, first of all, you're pretty young to begin with right now. 38, yeah. 38 years old. So 38 years young, I should say. So going back a little bit, tell us a little bit about your personal testimony because what you what you took um is turned turned your situation around. And I want you to encourage others that are listening to the program right now.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Yeah. So um, you know, at 38, I never in a million years thought I'd be where I'm at, right? Um it it was it was not the easiest, right? I had my first child that, you know, I was pregnant at 18, had him at 19. Um that in itself is a really, really, really hard journey. You have to raise your children and they're growing up with you, right?

SPEAKER_02 2:21

Um Yeah, your children at 18. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

I mean, yeah, that was uh that was not hard. I went through a lot of trials and um not easy. It was hard. It was not easy. Right. Going to food pantries, needing help. Um I I always promised myself that if I ever got on my feet, I wanted to give to others like they gave to me, right? Um, because without the support of the people in my life, um, I I truly wouldn't be where I am today.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

Well, first I want to say thank you because every woman has a decision to make and I choose life every time. So thank you for choosing life. Yeah. And I already know that God has an incredible plan for this child. Right? He does, which is it, which is so cool. So, okay, so you had to go to food pantry. I mean, this people who are in food pantry lines are not there just because for the heck of it. Like they need food to survive. You were in survival mode.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Yeah, and it's it's it's really hard. And and I don't want to come off that like the food pantries aren't doing a great thing because they are doing a phenomenal thing, right? But I think the hardest part about asking for help is um the the way in which food pantries do operate today, which is um it's open to everybody. You sign in, you sit in a waiting room, you wait, everybody knows why you're there. But and even though everybody's in there kind of for the same reason, you're already stressed enough. So sitting in a waiting room with other people, having them stare or look at you, or um, it's it's it's really uh an emotional roller coaster. Um, and uh there are a lot of people who are struggling in um a lot of different aspects and avenues of life that would just rather take the struggle or not eat or not provide for their family than have to go than have to go and sit in a room full of people and wait. And um it's it's really hard, you know, and it's it's really hard going in and getting a whole box of things. And when you're not okay here mentally, right, with all the stress and the things going on, it's very hard to just get a whole box of food and be like, okay, what am I gonna do with this? Because you're not in the most creative mindset, right? It it's hard, it's hard, it's hard.

SPEAKER_02 4:49

Um, and you're getting a lot of box like things that you still have to prepare. Correct. So that I mean they don't make it real easy, obviously. No. Um, it's it's hard. And you did this for for how long?

SPEAKER_01 5:03

About um, you know, between like eight or nineteen and twenty. I'm very blessed to have my parents and my sister Amy. Um, you know, I I say all the time that uh I was on a ride wild roller coaster, right? It was it was not easy. Um, although I chose my child, I mean, let's be honest, I I didn't choose my child at 19 and 20, right? And and that's a hard thing to overcome. And now that my son is 20, you know, there's a lot of things we've had to work through and live through. And he loves me unconditionally, and I think he knows how hard I did things. And I think also with being, you know, 20 that uh well almost 20, but he's getting it, right? He's getting it right now. I don't even think he could imagine having a child right now. And I'm very blessed uh to have been in a situation where my parents and truly, you know, my sister Amy was um so supportive, uh, and they they made sure that my child was okay. Uh once I left the house though, um I think I used food assistants. Um, well, not food assistants. I didn't get like food stamps or anything. I like went to food pantries and I worked all the time, I think for a solid like year and a half.

SPEAKER_02 6:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 6:21

And you you you made a vow really to yourself and said, if I ever am standing in a place that I can give back and do something, this is what I want to change. Okay, so let's talk about that change and how that came about.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Yeah, so uh I started working at Stiggs Brewery in Boyne City um in 2020 when the the pandemic happened. Um, you know, that was a crazy time for everybody. Um we had to shut the doors, and uh a gentleman came to the owner of Stiggs and just said, Um, you know, what can I do to help? I have some money, I want to help. So we decided at that point um to make meals for those in need. Um, and it was making meals, delivering them, or people could pick them up. Uh, we focused a lot on the two old folks' homes in Boyne, which is Lutzenberger and Deer Meadows, um, because a lot of those people in that Well, they don't have resources.

SPEAKER_02 7:25

They don't have right, some of them don't even have family. They don't, right? And they're alone, isolated, and they need food. Yes. Good for me.

SPEAKER_01 7:31

So we wanted to make sure that they were taken care of. Um, so for several years, uh, we kind of did hot meals and we, you know, focused on holiday meals and making sure that fresh prepared meals. Now these were ready-made meals, right? So hot, ready to go.

SPEAKER_02 7:48

This is so much better than a box and them trying to figure out how to put it all together. Yeah, and follow even following directions and recipes is difficult as we age. Yep. So good for you.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

In 2021, I became the executive director of the organization. Um, never in a million years that we are here today in 2026. Um, you know, we we outgrew the small mission and what we were doing. And uh we recently just decided so that people could really see us for who we are. Um, not that we don't love the name Stig's Feed a Friend, just that we are bigger and we are on to a bigger mission and we are no longer doing meals at the restaurant. We are serving so many other people in so many other different ways. Our name had to grow with us, right? So uh let's So what's your new name? We are now bridging the gap project. Love it. Um, for the exact reason of what we do. We really kind of had this big transition during the ice storm.

SPEAKER_02 8:59

Now I don't know There was a really just so uh people outside of Michigan, northern Michigan had a horrible ice storm last year, and it literally crippled the entire state. I mean, it was awful.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

People were without power for I think it was close to I think the highest number, I could be wrong, was like 32 days.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

Yeah, it was insane. So, so you you s took that as an opportunity to make a difference in people's lives. The day of.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

So tell me what you did. Yeah, um, the day of the ice storm, which I know my husband probably was not the most happy, right? Because I'm not the greatest driver and I'm out driving in like the worst conditions in northern Michigan. But um, our team really, really, really just wanted to make an impact, right? So we're out the day of and the night of the storm, we're out delivering meals. But we're delivering food and essentials to shelters who who could not expect to have people, right? So our first mission was we were delivering food and essentials to the shelters, and then we came in for the families after their power was restored, and um we would fill the fridges and the freezers with the things that they lost, you know. Um going back to what I said where it's super hard for people to ask for help, um there's one story during the ice storm that I it's affecting you. And it's um yeah, so um we came in to help a family. Um I had all new groceries for the fridge and their freezer. And uh we told them we were coming. It was right around like dinner time. Walked into the house, she's like, Oh, so glad you're here. Um the smell coming from the house was not of a smell I'm pretty used to, right? This isn't like cats or kids or dogs or anything like that. It's it's very sour smelling. And I'm watching these kids eat dinner and I open the fridge to replace what they had lost, realizing this mom tried to salvage everything she could, and that smell was coming from the fridge, and she was feeding her children the only thing they had, right? Um, this is heartbreaking. It was heartbreaking. And when I had told her I was going to clean out the fridge, and we were gonna come in with new food and we were gonna um, you know, make things right, she she just started crying because she's like, This is not ideal, but I don't have the funds to replace it, and I don't want my kids to go hungry, right? And stores are closed and things are shut down and nobody's driving. I mean, nobody's driving anywhere powerful. Except for spending, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:54

She's like, Because of all those years, you sat in that food pantry, you said, I'm gonna make a difference, and that's exactly what you did. I did, yeah. And I just want to encourage our listeners today because we have a choice to make every day. Number one, you chose life. Number two, you chose to make a difference out of a situation that a difficult situation you were in, and you turned it around and made lemons out of lemonade. And that's what God does for us is he encourages us, he gives us strength. And I just encourage anybody who's listening, if you've gone through something, chances are pretty high, God will use that very thing to make a difference in other people's lives. So think about what that is. So so today, tell us about the new the new venture and what you're doing today.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

Yeah, so uh the ice storm brought a lot of recognition for us, a lot of recognition we did not expect, right? Um we serviced 1,643 people and shelters in 42 days. Fantastic. That is a lot of work, and we worked really, really, really, really, really hard to do that. We ended up getting a phone call from Fox News Weather, who wanted to do a story on us. Um I love that the news is sharing good stories. Yeah, yeah. They, you know, they were reporting daily on the weather, and we got a phone call and they were like, we want to talk to you. Uh, we told them about what we were doing. Um in that transition, you know, we were always kind of bouncing and helping the community where we could. Growing like that, though, we we never wanted to be in a position where we felt because our food pantry in town, good neighbors in Boine City, is phenomenal, right? We never wanted good neighbors to feel like they weren't doing their job, which is why we were doing what we were doing.

SPEAKER_02 13:48

So you were there to support these uh these food pantries. And bridging the gap, which is the new name, is doing exactly that, correct? And so you are supporting all the food pantries that are supporting all of the people, correct? And trying to make it easier for people, right? Overall. So share your phone number. How do people get a hold of you if they have questions about what you're about your life story?

SPEAKER_01 14:10

Uh yeah, so they can um reach the bridging the gap phone number, which is 231-881-5605. Um we just aired our new website yesterday, which is www.bridging the gap project, Michigan. You have to put the mi.org. Um, so we're really excited about that. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Today, we now um, you know, we after the ice storm, we kind of got with manna, um some of the other organizations. Some of the other organizations, and just kind of said, like, where can we fit in? And that's where we, you know, we do our best work under pressure, and we could see that during the ice storm, which is now why we are basically the emergency response unit for the weekends.

SPEAKER_02 15:03

So let me ask you this, just in closing, what type of encouragement, what would you say to anyone listening to the program right now who is in a difficult spot, who is struggling just minute by minute, really? Not even day by day, but minute by minute. What would you say to encourage them?

SPEAKER_01 15:21

You know, I think that um sometimes we just have to pause. Um, and I have to do that in my own life too, right? Um sometimes we just have to pause and take a deep breath. And um when you're stressed, it's it's really hard to take a deep breath. Um, but but if you just put pause and listen for a moment, I I I think that you'll find the peace and the answer that you're looking for. Amen. Um you know, which is when we grew, I I was so incredibly stressed out, but I just like took a breath, paused, and listened for a moment.

SPEAKER_02 16:04

And you did that way back when, too. Like these are these are the moments, and I just want to pray for everyone before we close because if you're in that if you're in that place right now and you're struggling to even survive, which is where exactly where our sweet Natasha was, look at her today. Look what God did in her life. It's incredible. And now she's helping thousands of people. So, Heavenly Father, anyone listening right now, God, who's struggling in those moments, I just pray that you would reach down, wrap your arms around them, and Lord, let them feel your love, let them feel your presence, and give them the strength, Father God, to give to give what they have to somebody else because every experience does not return void. So, Lord, we thank you that we've gone through difficult times and that we can come out on the other side and that there is hope and that there is hope in you. Bless and keep each and every person. We pray right now in the name of Jesus. Amen, amen, amen. And Natasha, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 17:09

Yeah, I just want to add one thing because I know that you guys work with like a lot of the elderly and stuff, right? Which is a lot of where our decision making comes from because of how many seniors and veterans we help. Now, Rochester Hills, this area is not our area. Oakland County is a little fluent, yes. But for the ones who are helping the elderly and the ones who are helping the veterans and just people in general, the ones who are helping. Remember they're not always the most um ambitious um when they're really down in the dumps, which is why our mealbox program is so different. So for the people who are helping, it may seem overwhelming when you drop off a box of food to help the elderly. I would make a suggestion and and and take our lead, right? That every single week we get all of our food supplies together. We make an entire recipe guide, almost like your Hello Fresh would be, right? You get a whole box of food and you get recipes on how to build them. For these people who just cannot think clearly and are in a rough time and having a hard time figuring out what to make for dinner, and you know that you've helped by dropping off a bunch of stuff. Maybe just write down a couple like recipes of this is how I would use this food, or because I feel like when we give them the box of food and they're so excited to get the recipe guide for the week because they know how to use the food, they know how to stretch the food. Just because they're elderly doesn't mean that they can't take care of themselves. They just maybe have forgotten how to be as fluent in the kitchen. But step-by-step instructions, especially for those seniors and especially for the veterans and the people who are struggling, you just give them a little note and a little push. Yep, the push is gonna push them in the right direction and it heals them here. Right.

SPEAKER_02 19:06

You got it mentally. You've got it. Amen. Well, you're listening to Next Steps for Seniors Conversations on Aging. I hope that you found hope, encouragement, and turning lemons into lemonade. Have a blessed day.